The Beast Within Us

Chapter 6: ⑄ Chala

⑄ In truth, the hewani girl didn't remember much after Serell's demonstration. Her chain leash was handed to another man after the Lady Wheiler gave her strained thanks, sandy haired and dark eyed with tan skin like her own. But just because he bore no blue eyes didn't mean that she trusted him any more than the king.

They walked for hours on end before stopping. She'd even shifted of her volition once or twice to keep up with the sandy haired man and his horse. By the time they reached the small village, she was just as exhausted as everyone else, if not more so. When the time came, they nailed her chain to the ground near Yara's caravan, as Chala was now contracted to the Warden.

Before falling asleep, the tigress heard whispers in the night about using her as a weapon in the fights to come, to which she gave a mirthless laugh. As if she would fight for the very race that had hunted her kind for so long. It was amusing to say the least.

• • • • •    

Chala remembered going to bed as a tigress - it was easier, in that form, to sleep in the grass where the Lady's banners had parked the caravans. She did not awake as such, and an ache in her chest gave further proof that she'd shifted. The hewan grunted as she sat up, squinting at the blurred figures before her. She heard voices as they talked among themselves softly, as if that'd be enough to keep her from hearing their conversation.

"Is she up?" This one was hesitant and scared.

"She didn't scream this time..." This one was cocky and disappointed.

"Try it again." This one was mischievous and feminine.

"I don't know...."

"Just do it!"

"...v-vincio!"

Her back arched and she grunted as she was met with familiar torture, but after hearing the disappointment in the boy's voice when he heard she hadn't screamed, Chala was determined to deny him the satisfaction. Left panting after another forced transformation, she glared at the three recruits with a growl. Obviously they'd never been in the company of many predators before, for when she tensed to pounce, the three were ignorant, too busy marvelling at their stolen power.

Unfortunately the chain was much too short to do any real damage. However, Chala did manage to swipe fairly close to the fearful one's face, causing him to yell and fall in the dirt onto his rear. She roared at the other two who wore worried, disbelieving frowns as if her defiance was unexpected. The girl in the middle, the mischievous one, sneered, and the taller boy pointed his spear at her.

Angry and insolent, they let loose a barrage of the word, flinging it about like a toy but with enough will that it had influence. They sought to punish the tigress for her transgression, and they were accomplishing just that. The spell activated and reactivated itself over and over, but there wasn't enough time between each call for it to fully execute. There was no transformation, but the pain with still there. Chala's yowling was garbled and choked. 'Too much!'

Yara arrived just before the pain and the stress grew to be too much. As the Warden berated her trainees, the spell finally managed to complete its full cycle, and Chala found herself human again, lying sweating in the grass and dispelling the meager contents of her stomach. All blood and bile. She shivered.

"Are you hurt?"

Chala spat another gob of blood and spit to the side before she looked at Yara. Her gaze was unkind and hard after her days of torture. Before her sat the woman that all of this mess had begun for - the woman Qifi had died for - and now she dared to present herself to the tigress as some sort of twisted knight in shining armor. Chala scowled.

"Why do you care?" The words were an angry whisper, almost imperceptible among the morning ambiance and the sounds of soldiers awaking to prepare for the day. "What kind of game are you playing at? Where you pretend to give a damn like you're different from them? Are you not itching to use the words yourself, Master?" she snorted. "Do it. Get it out of your system while I am weak and helpless. Because when I regain my strength -" Chala leaned forward quickly, chain rattling at she reached its end inches away from Yara's face. At this distance, the Warden could easily see the storms in Chala's eyes. "nothing will hold me."

Chala retreated after holding her glare for a few more seconds, turning her back on the Warden. Another cough racked her body, and she clutched at her chest with a grimace and a brief, albeit very quiet, whimper. Eurra had taught them how to change, and he'd also taught them the dangers of it. The magic put a strain on the user's heart if it was used too much, too frequently. And that was exactly what those trainees had inadvertently done. 'That explains the blood then.'

The tigress turned her body back around to lean against the back of a nearby crate. In doing so, the girl was mildly surprised that Yara was still there. Chala's chain rattled as she shifted into a more comfortable position.

"Why are you still here?" she growled. ⑄